69novels Chapter 848 The Power of Dragon Slayer
Chapter 848 The Power of Dragon Slayer
Huang Tian stared at the disciples' corpses lying haphazardly at his feet. Severed limbs and warm blood mingled, thickly staining the rubble beneath his feet, and even the air was thick with a nauseating, sweet stench. The remaining disciples were all wounded, their arms slashed open to the bone, broken arrows lodged in their legs, their eyes filled with the terror of surviving a near-death experience, their hands trembling uncontrollably as they gripped their weapons. Huang Tian himself was forced back by Long Tian, his back almost pressed against the cold rock wall, the rough edges of the rock digging painfully into his shoulder blades. He was filled with shock and rage, a raging fire burning in his chest, making his internal organs feel like they were on fire.
"I'll risk it all!" A mad glint flashed in Huang Tian's eyes. He bit his tongue hard, and a strong, metallic taste instantly surged into his throat. He didn't swallow; instead, he opened his mouth wide and spat out a mouthful of crimson blood. The blood traced a shrill arc in the air, striking the bronze shield in his hand with the precision of an arrow released from a bow. It was instantly absorbed by the dense, shimmering runes on the shield's surface.
The next second, the bronze shield suddenly erupted with a blinding light, like the midday sun suddenly exploding, forcing Long Tian to subconsciously squint and involuntarily take a half step back. This was the Huang family's trump card secret technique, using essence blood to activate the ancient shield, which could unleash power far exceeding one's own cultivation level, but the price was also extremely heavy.
Huang Tian himself was violently thrown back by the shockwave from this secret technique, crashing heavily against the rock wall with a loud bang. Stone chips rained down, leaving a spiderweb-like crack behind him. His throat churned, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood, staining his chest red. Even his broken ribs throbbed with pain—a section of his chest was clearly caved in, and each breath was accompanied by a grating "hoarse" sound. He was obviously badly injured, unable to even stand, and only managed to stay upright thanks to the support of the rock wall.
"Retreat!" Huang Tian clutched his chest, no longer daring to harbor any thought of fighting. His voice was hoarse, as if it had been sanded, as he shouted out a single word with all his might. He struggled to his feet, staggered a few steps, and fled in panic with the remaining few terrified disciples like a stray dog. They didn't even glance at the wounded, groaning on the ground with broken limbs. At that moment, they had only one thought in their minds—to get as far away from these two dragons, who were like demons, as possible; staying even a second longer could mean losing their lives.
Long Tian watched their retreating figures disappear around the bend in the mountain path, tumbling and crawling, without giving chase. When he had taken Huang Tian's blood essence technique head-on, his internal organs had also been shaken, and he was now feeling a dull ache. A metallic taste rose in his throat, which he forcibly swallowed back, but a trace of blood still trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Long Jiao quickly stepped forward to support him, her brows furrowed as she looked at the mess on the ground—broken weapons, mangled flesh, blood-soaked rubble, and the stench of blood mingling with the dragon's unique aura, thick and pungent. "This has caused quite a commotion," she said in a low voice. "With such a strong aura, it won't be half an hour before more human cultivators arrive. We can't stay here any longer; we must leave immediately."
Long Tian nodded, clutching his chest and taking a deep breath, trying to suppress his churning blood. His eyes were as serious as iron: "Let's find a secluded valley to heal first. Once we've stabilized our injuries, we'll try to contact Long Shishen. It seems we're getting deeper and deeper into this mess, and it won't be so easy to get out of here."
Long Jiao helped him walk deeper into the dense forest, their hurried steps making a rustling sound as they stepped on the thick layer of fallen leaves. She couldn't help but ask, "Tell me, what do you think those old guys up there are trying to do by going to all this trouble to find Long Shishen? He's just a junior member of the Flood Dragon Clan. Even if he has some talent, it's not enough to warrant such a massive mobilization from the Dragon Clan, is it?"
Long Tian gave a wry smile, coughed twice, and lowered his voice: "You don't know this, but the Dragon Clan's power has been declining in recent years, and the elders are all very worried. What's more troublesome is that the Flood Dragon Clan, relying on its large population, is no longer satisfied with being under our control. In recent years, they have been openly and secretly breaking away from our control, even secretly encroaching on our territory. Their ambitions are enormous. Therefore, we must find a way to regain control of the Flood Dragon Clan, otherwise, it won't be long before they turn against us, and then it will be too late to regret it."
He paused, his gaze lingering on the distant, mist-shrouded mountains, his tone tinged with complexity: "And you don't know, the Dragon Slayer of the Flood Dragon Clan is far more capable than the clan anticipated. At such a young age, he has already grasped a portion of the True Dragon's power, and in some aspects, he has even surpassed those of our clan's most promising geniuses. If such a figure cannot be put to my use..."
“Therefore,” Long Tian’s voice turned colder, carrying an undeniable resolve, “we now have only one option—either we find a way to make Long Shishen submit and recruit him to our side, making him a force to suppress the dragon race; or we can only take advantage of his immaturity and kill him completely, absolutely not allowing him to become a threat to the dragon race. There is no middle ground.”
As Long Jiao listened, she paused slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes—she hadn't expected that a descendant of a dragon would be involved in such a deep entanglement of interests, behind which lay the power struggle between two clans, a choice between life and death. The wind deep in the forest carried the coolness of the mountain stream, rustling the leaves, as if it too were sighing softly for this unknown contest.
Long Jiao leaned against the cave wall, her fingertips twirling a knot in her cascading black hair, then casually untying it. She watched Long Tian, his brow furrowed, staring blankly at the stone wall, and couldn't help but scoff, her voice laced with disdain: "Is this Dragon Godslayer really that powerful? He's just a flood dragon, not even worthy of being listed in the proper dragon clan genealogy. Is it worth all this effort, even going so far as to kill him before he becomes a threat?" In her view, the dragon clan possessed noble blood, their scales bearing the marks of ancient divine power, while flood dragons were merely collateral branches, mortal creatures tainted with dragon energy. No matter how powerful they were, they couldn't cause much trouble; at best, they were just large mudskippers.
Long Tian turned around, his eyes as cold and hard as ice, his voice deepening: "You don't know the intricacies of this. The secret records passed down from our ancestors are written in dragon blood. Long Shishen is born with extraordinary talent, carrying a trace of the aura of an ancient divine dragon from birth. It is said that when he first took human form a hundred years ago, he could summon heavenly lightning to temper his physical body. His current abilities far surpass those of our generation of dragon geniuses, and he may even break through the shackles that have bound our dragon race for a thousand years, reaching the legendary realm of Nascent Soul." He paused, his fingertips tracing shallow marks on the stone wall. "The people up there are afraid. They're afraid he'll truly become a force to be reckoned with, surpassing the dragon race. That's why they're in such a hurry to find him, either to recruit him or... to eliminate any future threat."